Rhododendron 'Broughtonii', which is a 1840 Broughton hybrid documented as an arboreum hybrid, has been determined to be a triploid using flow cytometry by
Dr. João Loureiro, Dr. Silvia Castro, José Cerca, and Mariana Castro
Plant Ecology and Evolution Group,
Centre for Functional Ecology,
Department of Life Sciences,
Faculty of Science and Technology,
University of Coimbra, Portugal.
Rhododendron 'Broughtonii' is the pollen parent to the famous 'Pink Pearl'.
Rhododendron 'Broughtonii' is the oldest known polyploid large elepidote hybrid.
Summary of Ploidy Levels
Triploid 'Broughtonii',
Triploid 'Pink Pearl'
Source Marc Colombel
John and Sally Perkins
